Planning for success

A Northumbria academic is in the running for the national title of Young Planner of the Year.

Dr Lee Pugalis, who is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Theory and Practice, is a dynamic urban planner who combines teaching with research and urban planning roles.

He is one of 15 individuals in the early stages of their planning careers who have been shortlisted in the Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence, following a nomination by Prof Alan Townsend of Durham University. RTPI members can vote for their preferred candidate and then shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by a panel of judges. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on 10 July.

Dr Pugalis has had a wide-ranging career spanning regional and national government, academia and consultancy.

He is Vice Chair of the Urban Design Network and a Visiting Fellow at the Global Urban Research Unit.

Dr Pugalis is also a non-executive director of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) and is an Associate Director of TWRI Policy & Research consultancy. He has over 70 publications to his name and his first book,Enterprising Places: Leadership and Governance Networks, will soon be published. He is the In Perspective Editor of the journal Local Economy and is a member of several international editorial boards including the Journal of Urban Planning and Development.

Eligibility for Young Planner of the Year is limited to planners who are within the first ten years of post-qualification and are a member of the RTPI.

The winner receives a free place at the RTPI Planning Convention and at the Planning Summer School. They will also have the opportunity to speak at the annual RTPI Young Planners' Conference, to be held in Leeds on 11 and 12 October 2013.

Date posted: May 16, 2013